Photos: End of an era: Pizza Factory in Florence to close

Pizza Factory, located at 143 Main St. in downtown Florence, owned by Mustafa Ibic, is scheduled to close on Friday after about 45 years in business. STAFF PHOTOS/CAROL LOLLIS

ABOVE LEFT: A Pizza Factory pie on the oven.

Mustafa Ibic, owner of Pizza Factory in Florence, making pizza on one of the last few days the shop will be open. First launched in 1979, the business located at 143 Main St. in downtown Florence, is slated to close on Friday. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

ABOVE: Mustafa Ibic, owner of Pizza Factory in Florence, making pizza on one of the few days the shop will be open. First launched in 1979, the business located at 143 Main St. in downtown Florence, is slated to close on Friday. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Mustafa Ibic, owner of Pizza Factory in Florence, making pizza on one of the last days the shop was open. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS—

Staff Report

Published: 05-30-2024 4:55 PM

FLORENCE — The Pizza Factory in downtown Florence, which nearly closed two years ago to make way for a marijuana dispensary, will open its doors for the final time on Friday.

The longtime pizza business at 143 Main St., at the corner of Main and North Maple, posted a sign on its front door recently announcing the news. The Ibic family has owned the shop for about 17 years.

The Ibics, in July 2022, were preparing to close the store, which dates to 1979, after the building the business is located in — the Goodwin Block at 125 Main St. — sold to Tigre Opportunity Fund LLC in March of that year. The block, also houses Full Circle Bike Shop, a tax preparation service, a U.S. Post Office and more.

The pizza shop ended up staying open after Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra declined to sign a host community agreement that would have allowed the dispensary to open. She said at the time she made that decision based on the hundreds of people who lobbied against the dispensary.